Construction work on the new bridge to replace the weak steel one over the Elmina Benya Lagoon in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Municipality of the Central Region, is about forty-two percent complete.

Work on the 75metre span pre-stressed-concrete–box-girder bridge being built by the government at a contract sum of GHC19,061,381.21 commenced on March 15, and is scheduled to be completed in May next year.

Briefing the media during an inspection of the project by Parliamentary Select Committee on Roads and Transport Committee, at the weekend, Mr. Emmanuel Degbotse, the Resident Engineer, said the construction of the foundation and other major ground sections were almost complete.

He said the launch of the beams and other physical aspects were not as time consuming as the ground works and gave the assurance that those sections would be completed in no time for the bridge to be handed over on schedule.

The steel bridge, which divides two business centers around the Benya Lagoon, lost its structural integrity resulting in its inability to carry the axle load for which it was designed, endangering lives and property.

Also, its vertical clearance was not high enough to allow larger fishing boats to easily pass under it when the sea tide was high, a situation which slowed down fishing activities, the major occupation of the people of Elmina.

This compelled the Municipal Assembly to restrict its patronage to only pedestrian movement, affecting business activities, especially fishing, since it was difficult to transport goods between the two areas. It also resulted in low revenue generation to the assembly.

The condition of the bridge became a major issue in Elmina with political twists and turns until the contract for the construction of the new bridge was awarded to China Railway Wuju (Group) Corporation in December 2013, and signed in January this year.

The new bridge when completed -would properly link the two business centres, paving the way for vehicles carrying goods and people to move across the Benya Lagoon, thus improving business activities, especially fishing.

There would also be a rise in tourism related activities, which had reduced in recent times, since tourists did not have easy access to the Elmina Castle and Fort Jago, two of the most important historical sites in the region.

The Municipal Assembly would also see an increase in revenue collection to undertake developmental projects.

Mr. Degbotse said the street light, drainage structures, and pedestrian walkway would be provided along the bridge as well as the construction of an approach road, which extended the date of completion of the project to May 2015 instead of the March 2015 originally scheduled.

The vertical clearance of the bridge would be built higher than it was in the steel bridge to enable larger fishing boats to easily pass under it when the sea rises.

He said the new bridge would last over 100 years with good maintenance, adding that, the first maintenance would be beyond 15 years because of the quality of materials being used.

Mr. Degbotse however said, the project was two weeks behind schedule due to some technical challenges encountered, but gave the assurance that they would catch up and complete as scheduled.

Members of the Committee said they were impressed with the progress of work and commended the Department of Urban Roads, as well as the construction company for the work done so far.

They also inspected the rehabilitation of the Abora-By- pass and link, OLA Estates and Anthem roads, all in the Cape Coast Metropolis.

Giving a general overview of the five-day monitoring and evaluation of roads in the region, the ranking member of the committee, Mr. Kwabena Owusu Aduomi, MP for Ejisu, expressed worry about the state of the road network in the area.

He identified lack of maintenance, pothole patching, and the delay in the payment of contractors as the major challenge in the road sector nationwide, and urged the government to address them, especially the financial aspect -to prevent the roads from deteriorating further and eventually becoming un-motorable.

When the Committee paid a courtesy call on the Central Regional Minister, Mr. Aquinas Tawiah Quansah, he reiterated how the poor roads of the region was affecting farming and tourism and hinted of plans to meet the various roads agencies to prioritize fixing some of the roads, especially those leading to tourist sites.